When Hamas attacked Israel last fall, they were following a proven strategy best exemplified by Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden only spent a few hundred thousand dollars all in to allegedly destroy the Twin Towers and make a big hole in the Pentagon. According to an article published in the Atlantic at the time of his death in 2011, the response of the United States had cost U.S. taxpayers and inflation sufferers $3 trillion dollars already. And the continuing costs of the so-called war on terror continue, the Department of Homeland Security, spying efforts by the NSA, continuing battles in Afghanistan until 2021 and an ongoing defense budget larger than that of the next half dozen countries in the world combined. Bin Laden's return on investment was astronomical. Bin Laden famously said that his goal was to bankrupt the United States. He essentially succeeded. The only thing that prevents our country from going bankrupt is our WWII legacy of being able to print money in the world's reserve currency. And both Democrats and Republicans are conspiring to end that exorbitant privilege. They want to confiscate the $330 billion dollars of already frozen dollar assets belonging to Russia as part of the sanctions imposed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. If that happens the dollar as the world's reserve currency is toast and the dollar becomes indistinguishable from any other banana republic currency.effectively making us bankrupt as a country.
The Hamas attack of civilians in Israel follows the same game plan. They spent very little. The hang gliders they used to enter Israel don't cost much more than box cutters in the big scheme of things. So far, the U.S. has given Israel $158 billion in military aid. That number does not count how much Israel itself has spent. Hamas killed 1200 Israelis and took 200 hostage. So far, Israel's war on Gaza has killed 32,800 according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. And now it appears almost certain that the bombing of the Iranian consulate in Syria, killing Mohammed Reza Zahedi, a top commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Embassies and consulates are traditionally considered part of their home country. So, Israel has effectively attacked Iran itself in retaliation for Iran's support of Hamas and Hezbollah.
Is Iran a nuclear power yet? Who knows? U.S. intelligence has been warning that they are on the cusp for years now. We know that Israel has nukes. The chances may be slim, but this has the potential of escalating into a nuclear war. Could it potentially involve the U.S.? When the two main choices for U.S. President are a narcissistic Trump and a senile Biden, it's anyone's guess.
What we are observing in real time is a couple of examples of asymmetrical warfare. When one side has no intention of following the Geneva Conventions or any other rules of warfare, like a first strike targeting a civilian population , that's asymmetrical. And it gives an advantage to the most ruthless side.
As a country we have a couple of choices, being even more ruthless than the other side or avoiding being involved in other's conflicts in the first place. Being more ruthless in this context would involve taking the Trumpian advice of "finishing the job" and utterly destroying Gaza. And being rightly accused of genocide. Which might work tactically in winning the battle in Gaza. But it would prolong the urge for revenge on the part of Arabs everywhere and prolong war for generations.
Opting for peace, by not funding one side or the other in battles between other countries seems like the sensible solution to me. Already, some Israelis are saying enough concerning the attacks on Gaza. If Netanyahu is compelled to rely on only Israeli funds, getting no support from us, he may be more likely to seek a peaceful solution rather than a total victory solution. Which would be only temporary in any case. I'm Richard Fields and that's Report From the Fields for this week. See you again next week.